Big Blue Sky Cougar Build

[BlueSky]

Got to work on the kitchen. I bought a 15 gallon water tank from plasticmart.com, Dometic sink stove combo, water fill hatch, and Shurflo faucet. Basic stuff, nothing fancy. The storage areas under the sink are somewhat spread about the tank instead of being one large cavity. It is just the way things worked out with my goal of max open space and a compact kitchen. At least things will be captured and less banging and shifting around while moving. Water tank will be better blocked in and strapped down when final...

The tall space to the far left side will get a door and become a cabinet. For those that bought a shell with furnace, you will find lots of un-used space around the propane tank bin if you take the cabinet apart. Silverware drawer will go under the stove area on the far right. Canned goods, cups and things will go in the space under the tank. A pair of doors will open in front to reveal all storage under the sink/stove, while another on the left will open the area in front of the propane tank enclosure. You might notice the 2 oak 1x2 sandwiched together on the right vertical post. This is where I will attach the Lagun table, so I spent a lot of time making this corner post super strong...

Here you can see the fill hatch just above the sink. Keeping it inside means I don't have to cut a hole in the side of the camper and it doesn't have to have a lock and key.

12v and 120 power outlets, we're not big on having lots of glowing screens while camping so just these will do...

Lots of plumbing, electrical, laminating, drawer making, door making to do. I'm getting to the point of this project where I want to get it done if you know what I mean.

 

[longhorn1]

Nice build out. I see one possible concern is the placement of your water tank. With a full tank, that is a lot of weight at or beyond the rear wheel. That is why ATC and FWC place the water tank at the front wall of the camper. This is to insure the center of gravity for the camper is in front of the rear wheels. jd

 

[BlueSky]

Funny you should mention that longhorn, I've been thinking about weight distribution on this thing. I've decided to move the battery into a box up front in the camper. That dang battery must weigh 50lbs. The water tank is slightly over the wheel arch but mostly behind it. At 15 gal max water capacity, and at 6.2lbs per gallon, that's 93lbs. I don't think there will be a problem structurally with the camper since everything is supported on the bed of the truck, but the truck handling may get impacted.. Time will tell.

I got most of the plumbing done for the water tank. The fittings that I originally got when I bought the tank from plasticmart.com were pretty useless. None of the sizes matched the fitting on the other parts like the fill hatch and the pump, and there's no room for reducers. I ended up using only the access hatch, and I had my doubts about the tiny o-ring it had and sure enough it leaked like crazy...

I can't believe they sold this as suitable for RVs. I put a bead of silicon adhesive/sealant on top and it seems to be working so far. It was a lot of work getting all this plumbing done, and now everything works including the pump. Once the sink is in I'll hook up the supply to the faucet and the drain. I don't have a 5 micron filter on this yet, and not sure if it is really needed...

Notice the pump is lower than the bottom of the tank, and the drain valve is lower than the pump. I think this will work well.

I bought a foot switch that is intended to operate an electric trolling motor. I'll wire the foot switch to the water pump and have hands free water operation!

 

[BlueSky]

Put the laminate Formica on the counter top. I also bought a new tool, a little trimmer router that made doing the corner radii and holes a breeze. I love this thing...

You have to order formica on-line these days and have it shipped, the big box stores and other places did not have it in stock. I roughed out a rectangle and glued it on wrong and had to peel it off, reglue and put it back on. That was a pain, but it turned out great after trimming...

I also built and installed the kitchen drawer. Kept it simple, silverware on one side and all the other kitchen tools on the other side. Glue and screws hold the plywood parts together. Ball bearing slides with a nice detent at full close should keep things in place while moving. I'll do the face when I do the front of this cabinet...

Hot, dry and windy, allergies killing me these days. Hard to get much done.

 

[Happyjax]

Actually water is 8.34 lbs per gallon so you are looking at 125ish lbs on a full water tank.....

Love the build! Simple and functional

 

[hebegebe]

The guides will not stay closed on their own! I have a couple of drawers with good guides and even the small ones open especially off road. I am using a key lock on one and a entry security lock on the larger one which sometimes fail if off road

 

[BlueSky]

Happyjax, right your are, I don't know why I had 6 lbs stuck in my head, maybe that is fuel or something. I'll just strap my mother-in-law to the other side of the truck as a counter-weight. Did I just say that?

Hebegebe, thanks for the tip on the drawer slides, I'll have to come up with a positive latch or stop on it. In a camper van if a drawer or door opens you know it, but in a truck camper you are not going to find out until you stop and then things will be all over the place and maybe a broken drawer.

 

[billharr]

The guides will not stay closed on their own! I have a couple of drawers with good guides and even the small ones open especially off road. I am using a key lock on one and a entry security lock on the larger one which sometimes fail if off road

This I have the same slides. I used the slam latches from FWC on my build worked great on the drawers.

 

[BlueSky]

Got the kitchen cabinet 90% finished...

The little black mouse on the floor is the foot switch for the faucet. Still have to do the back splash and box in the electric and gas lines on the upper left.

Took the family out on a quick 1 night shake down in northern CO (Chambers Lake)...

Everything worked great except for one item. The mechanical thermostat that came with the camper is a total POS. Practically needed a set of pliers to move the on/off switch, and there was basically no temperature control at all. Occasionally the spring inside would go "sproing" at who knows what temperature in the camper. Don't know if it is Atwood or ATC that is responsible, but clearly this needs to change. Got a simple 2-wire digital unit off Amazon for about $25. Give me a friggen break. Ok, thermostat rant over.

All loaded up the camper is getting a bit heavy, so I got some SumoSprings bushings to replace the stock bumpstops on the rear suspension. I never had great experiences with air lift kits, so I'll give these a try.

Next up is the table, got a really nice plan for that.

 

[PokyBro]

Hi BlueSky,

Just wanted to compliment you on your galley build. It looks very nicely done, well thought out, and efficient use of space. Keep up the great work, and keep the photos coming! Good luck,

Poky

 

[jimjxsn]

Ha ha, tell us how you feel about that thermostat , My thermostat is the same and it was the same on my prior camper, a FWC. Let us know how the new one works. And if it takes a battery, be sure to carry a spare.

Love the build, keep up the good work.

 

[ski3pin]

Excellent work! It is nice to see! Thanks for sharing your skills with us.

 

[BlueSky]

Sorry it has been a while since an update. Got the table leg and table done. The table leg (Lagun) arm swings out from a stowed position (or you can leave it attached to the bottom of the table), and you put the table onto the arm of the leg and tighten a couple of handles.

I could not use the bracket that came with the Lagun table leg, I had to make my own out of steel 2"x2" steel angle iron so I could bolt it to my reinforced cabinet corner. It is now fixed in the up and down direction, but that's ok...

The four of us can eat at the table comfortably, or I can sit there and spend way too much time at my computer...

It does deflect a bit out at the far end to the right in the photo, so I may add a stiffener underneath or maybe even another fold down leg...

The table can swing away into the corner if needed...

The table stows under the bench seat...

The two straps you see on each side will have snaps that will hold the table in place while driving...

Those with sharp eyes out there will notice I raised the floor under the table area. You see, the Tundra has a really deep bed, so in the camper while sitting (with the bench seats on that upper shelf of the camper body) my feet were dangling in the air (I am 5'-9"). This is a little uncomfortable, so I raised the floor 6"..

I am loathe to add any more weight to this camper, but I had to do something to be comfortable while eating at the table. The extra weight is at least up front and low, and the bonus is I got a lot more needed storage space for shoes, hiking boots, solar shower bag, board games, firearms, you know, stuff like that . Just kidding about the firearms, maybe ...

Yeah, those are lightening holes in the 1"x6". Sometimes I get a little carried away with weight savings

Next up is to finish the backsplash around the kitchen counter, and the counter corner area. I've got a cool idea for that. Thanks for the kind words and encouragement. It has been a way bigger project than I imagined, and a stupid amount of work, but I am really liking how it is turning out and my family loves it.

 

[ski3pin]

................................................................... but I am really liking how it is turning out and my family loves it.

 

[Mighty Dodge Ram]

following your project with admiration.

 

[BlueSky]

Got the new thermostat installed. Just two wires, and it works fantastic, and it shows the current temp in the camper, and the display is back-lit when you push a button. Just a simple heat-only Honywell digital thermostat, cost about $25...

and the one that came with the camper, where it belongs, along with the company that made it...

Marty owes me $25

Added the SumoSprings, and the rear end of the truck came back up about an inch and a half...

Quit early today to watch the Broncos lose to Baltimore. Geeeezzzz. Going to be another one of those seasons.

 

[Dragon]

BlueSky - when I get my shell next year, I'm heading to your place, so I can have you build it out for me! HAHAHA!

Great work! I'm really impressed how well a DIY build out can be done.

How did the furnace do on the maiden trip?? If you could have a do-over, would you have installed your own heater?

Mike

 

[BlueSky]

Thanks Dragon, the furnace worked great, even at 8000 feet elevation. It was just the thermostat that gave me problems. In my old Westfalia I installed a Propex furnace and it was a total PITA, especially since I got a bad one and had to take it out twice for service and finally had to replace it with a new one. I guess that really turned me off to installing furnaces, and that was not even including the propane tank. If I did it over I would consider the Truma furnace and hot water heater combo. I did not know they existed, otherwise I may have asked ATC to do it or would have done it myself.

 

[BlueSky]

I finally got the kitchen corner done. When traveling and camping I like to listen to local radio stations and music (at low volume), so I installed a basic Alpine car stereo/CD player with Bluetooth. This little cabinet took a lot of time given how small it is...

Found some Jensen speakers that come in a perfect size/shape enclosure. Used some aluminum plate I had laying around to attach them to the ceiling. Not exactly audiophile, but ok for camping. Really need a pair of 6x9 inch to get good sound, maybe a future project...

Here is the whole galley unit all done. I think it worked out great. Very compact yet has everything we need to do a little cooking inside. Mostly just making coffee, pasta, soup, maybe some eggs and french toast. The counter space seems enormous compared to the Westfalia, and while camped we can leave things out and not have to put everything away in cubbies every time we go to bed. All the plumbing is inside except the short drain tubes that run straight down out the end of the truck's bed and the gap between the bumper and bed.. Filling the water tank is a breeze and I can easily reach into the camper from outside the back door and flip the drain valve. Storage is minimal, but we eat mostly fresh food anyway and that all fits in the big cooler. I can easily keep an eye on the water level in the tank without having to push a button on an electric panel. The downside is that the water tank is not in the ideal location regarding weight distribution, but it is pretty close to being over the rear axle so not horrible. The flush cabinet doors really add to the spacious feel of the camper, and that little cut-in at the sink/stove really adds a lot when we are all in the camper and one person is cooking or doing dishes.

Just a few more minor adjustments and some things on the outside. One of the top things on my list is to modify the soft-top window panels so I don't have to go outside and get on a ladder to pull off the outer panel and let air and light in or put the panels back up when a storm comes. What a PITA these things are, and I have an idea on how to totally eliminate this problem and do everything from the inside.

 

[Vic Harder]

I finally got the kitchen corner done. When traveling and camping I like to listen to local radio stations and music (at low volume), so I installed a basic Alpine car stereo/CD player with Bluetooth. This little cabinet took a lot of time given how small it is...

Found some Jensen speakers that come in a perfect size/shape enclosure. Used some aluminum plate I had laying around to attach them to the ceiling. Not exactly audiophile, but ok for camping. Really need a pair of 6x9 inch to get good sound, maybe a future project...

Here is the whole galley unit all done. I think it worked out great. Very compact yet has everything we need to do a little cooking inside. Mostly just making coffee, pasta, soup, maybe some eggs and french toast. The counter space seems enormous compared to the Westfalia, and while camped we can leave things out and not have to put everything away in cubbies every time we go to bed. All the plumbing is inside except the short drain tubes that run straight down out the end of the truck's bed and the gap between the bumper and bed.. Filling the water tank is a breeze and I can easily reach into the camper from outside the back door and flip the drain valve. Storage is minimal, but we eat mostly fresh food anyway and that all fits in the big cooler. I can easily keep an eye on the water level in the tank without having to push a button on an electric panel. The downside is that the water tank is not in the ideal location regarding weight distribution, but it is pretty close to being over the rear axle so not horrible. The flush cabinet doors really add to the spacious feel of the camper, and that little cut-in at the sink/stove really adds a lot when we are all in the camper and one person is cooking or doing dishes.

Just a few more minor adjustments and some things on the outside. One of the top things on my list is to modify the soft-top window panels so I don't have to go outside and get on a ladder to pull off the outer panel and let air and light in or put the panels back up when a storm comes. What a PITA these things are, and I have an idea on how to totally eliminate this problem and do everything from the inside.

Totally agree on the flush cabinet doors. I did mine the same way and love the clean and uncluttered look. Excellent work here!